Ep. 110 Summer is for Adults Too

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Sunshine and Stories Episode 110: Summer is for Adults Too 

Episode Summary: 
The Kates are drawing on not only their professional experience in this episode, but also on their lived experiences as.... adults who utilize their local libraries! Whether you’re already offering a summer program for the adults in your community or looking for ideas to help you launch one, take a listen for a few ideas and hopefully a bit of inspiration. Remember, summer at the library is absolutely for adults too! 

00:00 – Introduction 
01:30 – No really, who are adults? 
03:03 – What to think about when planning for adults 
05:48 – Ideas for structured vs. open programs 
12:15 – Interactive displays and self-directed programs 
15:08 – Taking your programs out of the library  
17:32 – Book & resource recommendations 
19:55 – Closing 

References:
Collaborative Summer Library Program
Colorado Youth Services Library Network mailing list
Colorado Creative Industries (OEDIT)
Libnet mailing list for all things library (including adult services)
Colorado Library Public Program Coordinators mailing list for all things programming
CSL Kits – Tools for Library Staff (cvlsites.org)
CSL Book Club Resource
Women Artists of the West CSL Book Club Set (via AspenCat)
Residence on Earth CSL Book Club Set (via AspenCat)
Don’t Point That Thing at Me CSL Book Club Set (via AspenCat) 

If you serve Colorado adults in your community and could use the support of a compassionate colleague who will be your thought partner and your very own adult services reference librarian, make sure you connect with Cristy Moran, the CO State Library’s Adult Services Senior Consultant! You can reach Cristy at either moran_c@cde.state.co.us or 720-926-2159. 

Next Drop-in Chat:
Hey Colorado library folks!  Join us on January 14, 2025 at 11:00 am to noon Mountain Time for our next online Summer Drop-in Chat. No need to register. Come when you can, stay for as long as you can. See you soon!

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here. 

Transcript

Sunshine and Stories podcast transcript for Episode 110   

[00:00] [music]  

Kate Compton: You're listening to Sunshine and Stories, a Kate-cast from the Colorado State Library's summer design studio with your hosts,  

Kate Brunner: Kate Brunner  

Kate Compton: And Kate Compton.  

Kate Brunner: Tune in every other week as we explore one summer reading topic. From colorful program ideas to community wide engagement to avoiding burnout, we have got you covered.  

Kate Compton: If you have other questions or want to dive into any topic further, check out Libraries Learn.org for our next live summer drop in chat date happening Tuesdays starting this fall.  

[00:41] Kate Compton: In a National Endowment for the Arts 2022 Participation Survey, Colorado ranked number one in the percentage of residents who personally perform or create works of art. Colorado Creative Industries, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, focuses on strengthening this vitality of visual performing and literary arts through promotion, resources, and funding opportunities. It's their goal to make sure all Coloradans have access to creative environments and experiences while preserving the state's unique cultural heritage. Check out their website in the show notes for resources on how your library can help create opportunities and experiences in your community.

[01:28] Kate Brunner: We're normally in the business of all things children's and teens, right? I think today we're actually going to talk about adults because we are adults, so we figure we can talk about this topic. We can handle it, we can cover it.

So, I think a good place to start is maybe who are adults? When we think about that and maybe that sounds like a little bit of a silly question, but Cristy Moran, our Adult Services Senior Consultant, likes to remind me that adults can be sitting in a high school classroom and they could also be all the way to Gudy Gaskill, Mother of the Colorado Trail. Like octogenarians out hiking in the mountains in Colorado. That is a wide range of ages that we're talking about.

And a wide range of interests and a lot of potential and opportunity to develop all kinds of different programming for that group of folks in your community. And really that is intergenerational programming too. Because, you know, we're talking about such a wide age range there. So, there may also be some tips, tricks, ideas, etcetera, folks might be interested in checking out the episode that we recorded on intergenerational programming, too. So, we're going to talk a little bit about adults today, but that might also be a good source for folks. And also just really think about who your communities adults are because our communities can be very, very different from each other and who is living in our community is important information when we think about designing programming.

[03:02] Kate Brunner: So, Kate, if you were planning an adult program or you were hoping someone would plan an adult program for you, [laughs] what would you want people to be thinking about when they're planning a library program for adults?

Kate Compton: Yeah, I think that big piece is who is that target audience? Who’s in your community? And maybe there's one subset that you aren't seeing in this space. Maybe you know that all of a sudden you don't have the octarian hikers in your space and you want to do something to get them in there. And I think what we've learned in all the intergenerational programming and training we've done is it really comes down to that target audience’s interests. And so billing around what is the event? What's the product that you're trying to convince people to come to so thinking about what is it that they wanna do? If you were trying to get me into that space, maybe you're holding a candy party because that's what I love. [laughs] 

I think when also when you're planning, it's just knowing your community who's in the community, but also knowing your community and what's on the calendar, what are those big events that happen every year? Is there always a big community festival? Do you want to try to attach something to that? Or do you want to make sure like know if there's a Bronco game on nobody comes to my library. So, we got to make sure to steer clear of Sunday or Monday Night Football days or things like that, so. Know your community. Know what's on the calendar, what kinds of things happen for them are I think some of the big things to create around. And I think that kind of leads us into the idea of asking and talking with your community.

Kate Brunner: Definitely. I think that's sometimes how you find out about those big things that might be on the calendar too. Maybe you know about them. Or maybe you don't have any interest in that sort of thing, but someone else tells you about it when you're having a conversation with folks when they’re in the library or wherever you happen to be in your community. So then, that's also that perfect time to ask people like, hey, you know, I'm starting to think about summer. What kinds of things for adults would you like to see us put on at the library? So just sometimes finding out directly from the source, what are people interested in, what would get them interested in coming back into the library?

I think another question you could ask is are you involved in some sort of community organization, or group, or club or something like that that might be interested in partnering with the library to put on a program or to just come and share with folks what that organization does. Or the opportunity to just connect with people different ways through different types of community organizations or opportunities that might be out there that you might not be aware of yet that specifically serve or involve adults in different ways.

[05:47] Kate Compton: And then we've talked a little bit about the idea of open and or structured. And I know you had a few different ideas around things that libraries are maybe already doing that they could open up and make a little less structured.

Kate Brunner: I've been kind of keeping an eye on social media because there are so many amazing, fun, awesome ideas happening out there in Colorado libraries. It's always a delight to see what folks are up to. Book clubs are interesting, like how they seem to be sort of changing and growing and you have the traditional book club where everybody reads the same book, you know, so. Maybe everyone reads The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. Or there are also these book clubs popping up that are a little less traditional than you would think of a library book club. So, they might be by genre. Durango Public Library has been doing a lot of those. And or they might be a cookbook book club. Where everybody makes a recipe from the same cookbook or from different cookbooks along a theme and it's lunch and a book discussion. They could be even something like if you're thinking about the art theme for this coming summer, what if everyone read a book with a red cover and then came and chatted about it? So I think there are some ways that people are making that book club a little more open. A little bit less structured and easy for people to drop in and participate not feel pressure if they haven't finished the book for the traditional book club style. So, I think sometimes those can be really interesting when you're looking to connect with adult readers in your community.

Kate Compton: I don't know if this fits in open or structured. I guess it could be both. But I was thinking around gathering people from your community that have maybe an expertise around the art and science of color. So, do you have a watercolorist in the community? Maybe even a meteorologist that can talk about rainbows and how they form. What about an interior designer or an optometrist that can talk about how the eye perceives color and just kind of letting them share a little bit about what they know and letting the audience ask questions?

Kate Brunner: Yeah, that wouldn't even necessarily have to be a very like formal panel with a table up front and chairs and prepped questions. I think you could even just put out an open call for, you know, do you have an interest or some expertise around this particular theme? Come share your expertise at this…. I don't know, discussion circle or whatever you might want to call it. I don't know if I have a good name for it right off the cuff, but there's a lot of opportunity for it to be either highly structured or much more open, I think.

And I think some of those much more open ideas really lend itself to trying not to make summer so difficult. There's so much going on in the library, we see increased foot traffic in the library as well. You know, there's a lot to do. There’s a lot going on. Programming is huge. And there's still all those other things that all those other services happening in the library at the same time. So, I think any way you can help make summer a little less challenging, a little less difficult. Bring a little more ease into your summer programming. I think that that's potentially a really good thing for us as library workers. But also potentially really good thing for adults too. You know, if they, if you're creating a space of ease, I think that can be a lot of fun.

Kate Compton: And I think falling into that category of “not so hard” is thinking about a crafternoon open crafts. You have a group that loves to knit, fibre arts circles. I know Ignacio is currently doing that. I think you had some other ideas.

Kate Brunner: Yeah, I was curious about whether or not you could just sort of set up open art studio time. You know, if you have materials already on hand or, you know, could purchase materials for different types of arts you know, just very open ended. Can you set out paper and watercolors one day or air dry clay or something like that? And people can just drop in and play with those supplies, you know? So, there isn't a project they're not trying to make something in particular. They're not trying to achieve some sort of standard with it. It’s just the opportunity to drop in and play with the materials and really just kind of enjoy themselves in a really relaxed environment.

And then another program idea I saw on Reddit of all places [laughs] was a discussion about an adults-only retro craft night, which I uh, would like someone in the southwest corner to make happen in 2025. Please? So I can come! The ideas they listed were things like Shrinky Dinks or perler beads or making slap bracelets. And then there was even a link to like a pop rocks painting idea. Painting with neon paint and then you sprinkle it with pop rocks. So sort of abstract painting, more about process art for adults really I think, so.

Kate Compton: That sounds so fun! I would definitely be there too. [laughs] Maybe worth the drive down for me? 

Kate Brunner: Anytime! [laughs]

Kate Compton: I think also music lends itself to that ease for staff. But also for patrons. If you can just bring in a local group. I know Basalt has on Thursdays during the summer, they bring in local students to just perform chamber music. Maybe there's a… another local group that can perform in your area or even maybe you have a bunch of musicians in your community that just want to get together and you can host the space for a jam session. That seems like one great community building for your patrons, but also an easy lift for you to just say, “Hey, we’re holding this space. Anyone come.”

Kate Brunner: Here we had a family drum circle one night when I was working at Pine River. And so people could bring drums if they had them or I just brought out, like, the percussion instruments from story time Really like the shakers and clap sticks and things like that. None of us were professionals. None of us were trying to make perfect music or anything like that. We were just really sort of having fun with it. Someone would start a beat and we'd all try to follow it. And then maybe someone would iterate on that beat. And it was... it was messy [laughs] and it was a lot of fun, like there was so much laughter. Not only from the kids, but from the adults as well. So also just an opportunity again to sort of get silly and play.

[12:03] Kate Compton: I love that. And then we also had the idea around. We've talked in kids and teens about not just our structured or unstructured programs, but maybe more interactive ways our patrons can connect with the summer theme. So, displays and more self-directed ideas. And something I had seen in a museum, I actually think in New Zealand, was kind of colored artifacts and there was just different things around the world around a color. So, I was wondering if there would be a way to do every brings in something blue. Have people bring in objects from their home that mean something to them around yellow and kind of have a rainbow. Or maybe it's each week you have a different color that is highlighted.

Kate Brunner: Yeah, I think you could even turn that into a whole book display. I mean, if you had people bringing things in that they were comfortable with putting into a display, you know, asking adults to bring in blue objects or whatever. Then I think the folks in the library could collect a whole bunch of blue books, maybe. Or it could even be fun to play a game with patrons where they bring in a blue object and you try to find a blue cover book that you know matches up with that object somehow. That might make for a fun display. You're sort of co-creating the display with the adults in your community.

I also think things can be so simple, like super simple, like the sort of adult coloring sheets. You know, they're the ones with more detail and smaller sections to color and what not. And so could you have a coloring station? You know, maybe that's in the adult section, but also maybe that's including some adult coloring sheets in with the kids coloring sheets in the kids section or, you know, you could really kind of put them all over the library because there are adults in lots of different places in the library. But really just kind of keeping that simple. But you know, just a relaxed place to sit in color for a little bit.

Kate Compton: I love the idea of bringing it out of the adult section. Like you said, you never know when an adult's waiting for a program and just needs a little something and a way to interact. That's a great idea.

And I think we've talked a lot about bad art and how much we love that concept. But after you've done the program, do you just have a gallery and art up on the walls for people to look at? I know that's a popular thing in a lot of libraries is just showcasing local art that's happening and allow your patrons to put up art. And maybe it isn't these amazing pieces. It could be, but also why not highlight just people everyday how they're expressing themselves? I think that's a fun idea.

Kate Brunner: Yeah. You also had another fun idea when we were talking about and planning for this episode around photography too, right?

Kate Compton: I love a disposable camera. I am all about that and I just I think it's just from my childhood. That was like my exciting thing if I got one for a birthday. And so I had the idea of what if you gave out disposable cameras to your patrons and allow them, you know take them for a week, or take them for the month? Have a date when things are coming back and then making a collage that is maybe that art gallery of local colors. What does it look like through the eyes of your patrons?

Kate Brunner: I just thought that was so creative, and since we're talking about creativity as a summer theme, I think that’s it right there, right? This summer is such a great opportunity to really tap into the creativity of all the adults in your community. And as we talked about, maybe bring them in to help you co-design that adult programming and really seeing what the needs of adults are for fun and play and creativity and recreation and arts this summer. And providing the adults in your community maybe something that they're not going to find anywhere else.

[15:25] Kate Brunner: I think also in the summertime is a potentially a good time to think about off site programming if that's something that you haven't played with yet. I mean if that is something that you've been trying out with adults and it seems to go well with your community, then it's probably a great thing to keep trying and keep putting out there for folks. But if that's something that you haven't done yet, maybe summer is a great opportunity to sort of try that out. The Adult Services folks at Westminster have had pub trivia happening that they did for a while. And then I think there are also a lot of other things going on in other libraries. 

Some folks in Grand County have sort of a regular hiking club that goes out. You know, if you have a regular program like that for the summer, could you fold in some sort of creative twist to it then? Because then you already have a regular audience. Folks that are coming to that program and then you're just sort of adding like a little extra feature to it maybe. Maybe categorize that under trying not to make some are too hard.

And then I think there's always like the structured art classes. Those are kind of thing, yes you could bring in somebody and teach an art class on something. And then also you could go off site with that as well. I just saw that Rampart hosted a plein-air art program, which is where you actually go outside. You take all your supplies and you go create, you know, a whole work of art, a whole painting outside in the outdoors. They're typically like nature scenes, but I think maybe you could have folks plein-air paint your library. Who knows?

Kate Compton: Mmmm, I love that! And then put it in the gallery, and then have an auction, and then the Friends of the Library can fund next year's summer reading program! [laughs]

Kate Brunner: [laughs] You just never know.

Kate Compton: Oh, the possibilities.

[17:32] Kate Brunner: Today, let's take a look at a few recommendations for adults from our Colorado State Library’s very own Book Club Sets collection that you might want to borrow from us for this summer. Our first title is Women Artists of the West by Julie Dannenberg, and Julie offers her readers narrative profiles of five different artists: Mary Russell Colton, Maria Martinez, George O'Keefe, Laura Gilpin, and Dorothea Lange. This book lends itself to potentially a full adult program, or even five, and could be paired with an exploration of each artist's artwork. And perhaps a chance for folks to try their hand at one of the mediums these artists utilized.

The next title from our collection I want to share with you today is a bilingual poetry collection, Residence on Earth by Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. In this book English versions of the poems translated by Donald Walks accompany Neruda's original Spanish poems. So, in addition to being well suited to a bilingual book club, this volume could also be inspiration for a standalone poetry program.

And finally, Don't Point That Thing at Me by Karl Bonfiglioli, which is Book One of the Mordecai trilogy, is about, and I quote, “a degenerate aristocrat, amoral art dealer, seasoned epicurean, unwilling assassin, and acknowledged coward”. It's an adventure story with a little bit of everything: theft, dead clients, a mysterious woman and of course, the secret police. So, there is a lot to talk about if you were holding a book club for this book.

Check out the show notes for access to the entire catalog of Book Club sets and learn more about how to request one. Book Club Sets are only available for checkout by Colorado libraries.

[19:15] Kate Brunner: That's our Kate cast for today, y’all but we hope you'll join the upcoming community drop in discussion.  

Kate Compton: We're hosting these discussions all year long. All Colorado library professionals involved in summer programming are welcome. No need to register, stay for the full hour or just pop in to say hi to colleagues across the state. Details for the next drop-in session can be found in the show notes for this episode and on Libraries Learn.org the Colorado State Library’s continuing education calendar and archive. 

Kate Brunner: We'd like to say thank you to all the Colorado library professionals who shared book recommendations, program successes and other artful ideas with us as we were designing this year's podcast. This project is also made possible by a grant from the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.  

Kate Compton: Thanks for joining us and we'll catch you next time.  

[20:10] [music]